Presentation of Forest / Vorst

Forest / Vorst was originally located in a ... forest. The name of the
municipality was derived from Forestis Silva, the Royal Forest (in
fact the hunting domain of Duke of Brabant).
The patron saint of Forest / Vorst is St. Alène. She is said to have lived at
the time of the conversion of the Franks to Christianity (VI-VIIIth
century), but her cult is known in Forest only since the end of the
XIIth century.
Alène was the daughter of a pagan lord. She was a Christian and left
one night her father's castle in order to go to mass in the chapel of
Forest. The lord ordered his guards to follow her; when Alène reached
the river Senne, she walked on the water. The guards warned the lord,
who said his daughter was bewitched by Christians and ordered the
guards to bring her home. Alène refused to follow the guards, who took
out one of her arms. An angel showed up, picked up the arm, and put it
down on the altar of the chapel. Alène's parents, convinced by the
miracle, became Christian and the relics of St. Alène became a popular
place of pilgrimage. St. Alène is still invoked today against
toothache.
A Benedictine Convent ruled the village of Forest / Vorst from 1099 to 1796.